This invention relates to a coin packaging apparatus configured to package a stack of coins by winding packaging paper onto its side surface, and more particularly to a coin packaging apparatus using different kinds of packaging paper depending upon the sort or number of coins to be packaged.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an outline of a conventional coin packaging apparatus.
The conventional coin packaging apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 9 includes a coin insertion hopper 103 which opens to the top portion of a machine unit 102. A first coin supply rotating plate 104 is driven to rotate to receive and supply coins inserted into the coin insertion hopper 103. A second coin supply rotating plate 105 is driven to rotate to supply coins delivered from the first coin supply rotating plate 104 to have them sequentially processed one by one. A coin passage 106 extends substantially tangential to the second coin supply rotating plate 105 to perform separation, counting and other processing of coins supplied from the second coin supply rotating plate 105. A coin stacking portion 107 is located at one end of the coin passage 106 to stack a predetermined number of coins into the form of a rod. Three packaging rollers 109 are located under the coin stacking portion 107 to receive a rod of stacked coins from the coin stacking portion 107 and to wind packaging paper 108 wider than the length of the rod of stacked coins onto the side surface of the rod of stacked coins. A paper feeding roller 112 supplies the packaging paper 108. A cutter cuts the packaging paper 108 into a desired length. Folding heads 114 are located near the top and the bottom of the packaging roller 109 to fold and tightly press upper end lower ends of packaging paper 108 wound onto the side surface of the rod of stacked coins to make a packaged rod of coins. A packaged coin outlet 111 is located under part of the machine unit 102 to discharge packed rods of coins. Three packing rollers 109 and the folding heads 114 form a coin packaging portion 110.
As apparent from the structure explained above, the conventional coin packaging apparatus 100 is configured to package each rod of stacked coins by activating three packing rollers 109 to wind the packaging paper 108 wider than the length of the rod of stacked coins onto the side surface of the rod of stacked coins, and by activating the folding heads 114 to fold and tightly press upper and lower ends of the packaging paper 108. If the thickness of coins to be packaged varies among different kinds of coins, or the number of coins to be packaged as a single rod varies, the packing paper 108 is changed from a wrong one to a correct one having a width meeting the kind and number of coins undergoing the packaging process.
An invention of a coin packaging apparatus, intended to confirm whether predetermined packaging paper with a suitable width was not or was set upon replacement of packing paper, is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 113216-1996.
The coin packaging apparatus according to the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1132161996 includes a packaging paper width detecting mechanism mounted for vertical movement near a packaging paper table supporting a roll of packaging paper thereon and having a packaging paper height detecting lever which can be put on the top surface of the packaging paper roll on the packaging paper table. A fold-and-press mechanism has a pair of fold-and-press heads vertically movable toward and away from each other between pause positions and fold-and-press positions to fold and press upper and lower ends of the packaging paper wound on stacked coins when they are moved to the fold-and-press positions. A coupling shaft is located between the packaging paper width detecting mechanism and the fold-and-press mechanism to vertically shift the pause position of the upper fold-and-press head in accordance with the height of the packaging paper height detecting lever. This coin packaging apparatus further includes a detector device provided in the fold-and-press machine to detect the relative distance between the fold-and-press heads and thereby detect the paper width of the packaging paper roll on the packaging paper table. An operational device is provided through which the type of coins corresponding to the packaging paper roll on the packaging paper table can be input. A memory stores a plurality of paper widths of packaging rolls for different types of coins as reference paper widths. An identify/control device identifies whether a particular packaging paper roll on the packaging paper table corresponds to the type of coins selected through the operational device by comparing the paper width of the packing paper roll detected by the detector device with one of the reference paper width in the memory intended for the selected type of coins. The identify/control device is configured to output an alarm when the paper width of the packaging paper roll detected by the detector device does not meet the reference paper width in the memory for the type of coins selected through the operational device. That is, the coin packaging apparatus according to the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 113216-1996 is configured to detect the paper width of the packaging paper, confirm whether the packaging paper corresponds to the selected type of coins, and output an alarm when the packaging paper does not meet the selected type of coins.
Coin packaging apparatuses of this type, however, are usually configured to simply output an alarm when any of various abnormal matters occur. Therefore, even when an alarm was output, an operator could not locate which type of abnormality was meant by the alarm. As a result, the operator was compelled to refer to operation manuals or check various points of the coin packaging apparatuses, and it took him much time to replace the packaging paper with predetermined packaging paper of a correct paper width and to actually package the coins.
Even in packaging apparatuses designed to indicate that the alarm means that the wrong packaging paper is set, there still remained the problem that operators had to locate the correct packaging paper, and often set another wrong packaging paper.
Moreover, when the packaging paper is not the correct one for the selected type of coins, the packaging paper should be immediately replaced. However, since the packaging paper was gripped by the packaging paper supply rollers, the packaging paper had to be forcibly pulled out to remove it, thus the apparatus was inconvenient for replacement of the packaging paper.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a coin packaging apparatus having a structure which makes it easy to recognize that the wrong packaging paper is set, if so, and to know the correct packaging paper, and also makes it easy to replace the packaging paper.
According to this invention, there is provided a coin packaging apparatus comprising: a setting device permitting an operation to set conditions of a packaging operation including a coin type and a unit number of coins per package, and to enter a command to start the packaging operation. A memory stores information including coin types and unit numbers of coins per package and recommended paper widths of packaging paper. A coin stacking device stacks coins of the set type and the set unit number of coins per package in the form of a rod. A paper supply device supplies packaging paper to be used for packaging the rod of coins stacked by the coin stacking device. A coin packaging device winds the packaging paper around the side surface of the rod of stacked coins and folds and presses upper and lower ends of said packaging paper to package the rod of stacked coins. A paper width detecting device detects the paper width of the packaging paper set on the paper supply device. A comparator compares the value of the detected paper width of the packaging paper with a predetermined allowable range for the recommended paper width value of packaging paper suitable for the coins of the set type and the set unit number of coins per package. A display indicates the incorrectness of the packaging paper and the recommended paper width value when the result of comparison indicates that the paper width value of the packaging paper is out of the predetermined allowable range for the recommended paper width value.
In the coin packaging apparatus according to the invention, since a display indicates that the packaging paper currently set is wrong and the value of the recommended paper width, operators can immediately know that the current abnormality is a mismatch of packaging paper, and the recommended paper width of packaging paper suitable for the coin type and the unit number of coins per package. Therefore, the operators can undertake replacement of the wrong packaging paper with the correct packaging paper for the coin type and the unit number of coins per package. When the apparatus includes a paper supply/discharge device, unlike the conventional apparatus using paper supply rollers exclusive for paper supply operations, the apparatus is also operative for paper discharge to quickly discharge the packaging paper heretofore gripped by the paper supply/discharge device.
If the comparator is configured to execute comparison when a coin type and a unit number of coins per package is selected through the setting device, or when a packaging start command is input through the setting device, erroneous supply of the wrong packaging paper and incomplete packaging of coins is prevented.
When the apparatus includes a paper supply/discharge switch, the comparator preferably executes comparison when paper supply control is manually selected by the paper supply/discharge switch.